Your Right to Know

JERUSALEM — Asserting it has broad international support for a fierce military offensive in the
Gaza Strip, Israel is showing no signs of ending the operation, vowing to press on until there is a
halt to rocket attacks from the seaside territory.

But a mounting Palestinian civilian death toll is beginning to draw international criticism and
could put the brakes on the campaign.

Israeli officials say they are pleased with the results of the four-day operation so far.
Military officials say the round-the-clock airstrikes have hit Hamas hard, taking out the militant
group’s command centers, rocket launchers and storage sites, as well as much of its long-range
rocket arsenal.

A greater threat — and gamble for the Israelis — would be sending ground troops into Gaza.

Addressing a nationally televised news conference yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said the offensive was progressing well and brushed off a question about a possible cease-fire,
suggesting the campaign will continue for some time. He also refused to rule out a ground
offensive.

“I will end it when our goals are realized. And the overriding goal is to restore the peace and
quiet,” Netanyahu said.

Israel began the assault on Tuesday in what it said was a response to weeks of heavy rocket fire
out of the Hamas-controlled Gaza. It is the heaviest fighting since a similar eight-day campaign in
November 2012. The outbreak of violence follows the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli
teenagers in the West Bank, and the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager in an apparent
revenge attack.

In four days, Israel has pummeled more than 1,000 targets in Gaza — twice the rate of the 2012
operation. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed, including dozens of civilians, said the
Health Ministry in Gaza.

Adding to Israel’s technological edge, the “Iron Dome,” a U.S.-funded, Israel-developed
rocket-defense system, has intercepted more than 100 incoming rockets, preventing any Israeli
fatalities so far. Palestinian militants have fired more than 600 rockets, most falling in open
areas.

Asked about reaching a possible cease-fire, Netanyahu evaded the question. Instead, he said he
has held phone conversations with key allies, including President Barack Obama and the leaders of
Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Russia.

He described the talks as positive and said he had told his counterparts that no country would
tolerate rocket attacks on its citizens.

“No international pressure will prevent us from acting with all power,” he said.

Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, said that Israel has “strong diplomatic backing for
what it’s trying to do.”

For now, international criticism of Israel appears to be muted. White House spokesman Josh
Earnest reaffirmed “Israel’s right to defend itself,” although he also called for the sides to “
restore calm” and to protect innocent civilians.

Britain, another close ally, this week also offered its “staunch support” for Israel’s right to
self-defense, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper “reiterated Canada’s steadfast support for
Israel,” his office said.

But the support has not been wall-to-wall.

France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim populations, has sent mixed messages. Early
this week, President Francois Hollande said Israel should “take all measures” to protect its
population. But after some criticism, he later deplored “the numerous Palestinian victims” and
said, “The escalation must cease.”

The European Union also has been measured, condemning the rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli
population centers but also deploring the growing number of civilian casualties.

Netanyahu rejected criticism of the death toll among civilians, saying that Israel does
everything possible to protect them. He accused Hamas of putting civilians in harm’s way by using
residential areas for cover.

At least 35 of the dead, and perhaps many more, were civilians, including an 80-year-old man, an
80-year-old woman and 17 children younger than 13, according to a tally by the Associated
Press.

Should the civilian death toll continue to rise, Israel could see international support crumble
and face calls for restraint, as has been the case during past offensives in Gaza, Lebanon and the
West Bank.

Civilians will be especially at risk if Israel begins a ground operation. The army has thousands
of forces along the border.

Cease-fire efforts show few signs of taking hold. After White House offers to help facilitate a
truce, Secretary of State John Kerry is considering a trip to the region next week, a U.S. official
said yesterday.

In the 2012 fighting between Israel and Hamas, Egypt’s then-President Mohammed Morsi brokered a
cease-fire, leveraging the influence his Muslim Brotherhood held with its ally Hamas.